12 June

Mavis (May) Hermanus  - Adjunct-Professor and Director of the Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry (CSMI) at the University of the Witwatersrand.

She was formerly the Chief Inspector of Mines for South Africa, and in that capacity, has served as Chairperson of the Mine Health and Safety Council and the Chairperson of the Board of the Mining Qualifications Authority. Prior to joining the then Department of Minerals and Energy, May was the Group Health and Safety Manager for Samancor. Her first formal appointment in the field of health and safety was with the National Union of Mineworkers where she co-ordinated the union’s health and safety programme. May currently serves on the boards of Aveng Ltd and the Railway Safety Regulator and chairs the board of the Bokamoso ESOP Trust. She has served on other boards in the past in the public, parastatal and private sectors.

May has a B.Sc. (Geology) from the University of Cape Town and a M.Sc. (Engineering – physical metallurgy) from the University of the Witwatersrand. She is a Takemi Fellow 1998/9 of the Harvard School of Public Health, a Fellow of the SAIMM and a member of the Collegium Ramazzini.